Comfort Cookies

I used to watch intently, my father baking something sweet. He had several cookbooks that he treasured, using recipes over and over again. These very well loved books were lined up on the kitchen counter ready to be flipped through and studied. Usually covered in flower, these books carried the spells that made my childhood magical. The Better Homes cookbook was the most loved. The reminiscence of past cooking adventures covered the pages. The crease on the fold of the book was tattered and lovingly patched up. When I open the pages today I remember my father baking, his hands covered in flour lovingly rolling out pie dough. It's a wonderful time capsule no sitting on my kitchen counter.

If there is anything in my life that reminds me more of home and this cookbook, it has to be sugar cookies. I would patiently wait for my father to make the dough, wrap it up and put it in the fridge. Like a little cookie elf, I'd nibble away at the dough hoping no one would notice. To me, sugar cookies are the best! Today I make them whenever I need comfort and they are fun to share. I want to walk you though the following recipe, because I like to teach and reminisce. Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/sugar-cookie-cutouts/

This recipe is super easy, I've watched it be made by several people, and I don't know how many times I've made it. When I say people, I'm talking about the various mothers I had growing up. Living in a small town, you tend to acquire a bounty of mothers. I still love these woman to this day and love them all equally for the lessons I learned from them. They all tended to use this recipe differently creating variations, but all equally fantastic!

Here is my take...

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing (optional) 

I tend to follow recipes closely, but that doesn't mean I think it's crazy to shake it up. I try to wait until I know a recipe fairly well before I make changes. For example, some sugar cookie recipe's use shortening and butter, but go ahead and start with this and see what you come up with.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds.

I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer I stole from my friend's house when he was moving. Now that I said that, maybe "stole" is a strong word. He wasn't using it, I needed one, I asked if I could have it, he said yes. Anyhoo... I've also done this by hand, but an electric mixer makes life so much easier.

2. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.

If you are using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, drop the flour in a little at a time until the flour is mixed in (don't over mix). I think it's nice to watch the consistency change and using the mixer makes it easier to focus on the dough instead of the crippling pain in your hands and arms from hand mixing everything. If you're super strong and can hand mix like a champ, more power to you. When you've pored in all the flour and the mixer has one it's job, get the old wooden spoon as directed and make sure everything has been incorporated.

3. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

As a child, this was my favorite part of this process. This dough is heaven! I would creep into the kitchen, carefully unwrap the dough, take a good chunk, then try to make it look like nothing ever happened (having took about 1/4 of the dough, this was not possible). I'm sure my father knew once he grabbed the dough out of fridge, but he never really said anything to me. I was a happy kid (surprisingly, not obese). 

I wouldn't keep the dough in the fridge longer than 24 hours. I'm sure you could, but why wait (Unless you just wanted to eat the dough, which I completely understand).

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4-1/2- to 6-inch cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.

I wish I could say that it's easy to roll out dough. Getting the right texture of the dough and thickness for the cookies takes some know how and a little practice. If the dough has been in the ice box for a day, I would take it out and let it rest in it's wrapper for a short period of time, at least until the dough is a little squeezable. 

Throw down some flour on a flat surface and spread it out. Take the dough out of it's wrapper, put it down on the floured surface and throw some flour on top it as well. You want to make sure the dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin. I smack the dough down with my hand a couple times to make it flat. It's just fun and you get a little aggression out in the mean time. You want to make sure you don't role the dough out too flat, so watch out. The recipe says 1/4 inch thick and I agree (fatter the dough the thicker the cookie). You want to make sure that once you cut out the shapes, you can transfer them to the cookie sheet without harming the form. On that note, don't worry to much about the form when it's dough. In the oven, the cookie will fluff out a bit. I also think it's smart to put some flour on the cookie cutter as well so it doesn't stick, especially cutters that are flat and not open.

6. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack; cool.

Lesson: Some ovens are hotter than others. The temp varies around the set temperature. So watch and test.

Once the cookies are baked, it's time to have fun. Better Homes also has a simple frosting recipe (below). We had sprinkles and different candies to make faces and various creations. As an adult I eat these cookies plain without the added sugar. Every once in a while I'll make the frosting, sometimes with a little bit of added butter. 

This frosting recipe calls for the following...

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

Sometimes it's the little things that teach us the biggest lessons. We get wrapped up in thinking about things we don't have or the things we want. We think about money and relationships and often things we can't control. I encourage folks to take time for seemingly unimportant things. Things that when we look closer, really do have an impact on our happiness and who we want to be. When I think about cooking I think of the people in my life that nourished me. I want to give that to the people in my life. Life is full of good moments. Take time to remember them, hold on to them and take what you need.

It's your world!